Open Doors, Open Hearts: Theraleaf Dispensary Feels Like Home

Theraleaf Dispensary – San Jose, CA

THE PEOPLE

Theraleaf was founded in 2014 after a long struggle to open within San Jose ordinance guidelines. Managers Ian Donnell and Lucia Le proudly shared their mission “to provide premium quality—yet affordable—medicine with excellent customer service, where all patients feel welcomed and appreciated,” because, as Le explains, “you don’t get that kind of service in most dispensaries!” Paige Madsen, a budtender and member since 2009, stated with confidence, “Theraleaf is the most inexpensive, laid-back, home-feeling, family-style club. And very diverse, with a staff of [roughly] 50 percent women and 65 percent people of color.”

Theraleaf Dispensary – San Jose, CA

THE PRODUCT

Staff favorites include Paper Planes’ Special Edition Live Resin, whose limited run boasts exclusive flavors. Their best-selling vape cartridge by MediX is another hit, bought at a great value that Theraleaf passes right along to their patients—normally $30-35 at other dispensaries—is $17.89 out the door! Jetty Extracts’ whole-plant extracted CBD Dablicator, a 30:1 Charlotte’s Web CO2 oil, is the newest medicinal concentrate on the menu. The Cocoa Med bars are a patient favorite, with a smooth chocolate taste and no lingering cannabis flavor.

Theraleaf Dispensary – San Jose, CA

THE BUSINESS

Proudly known to provide top-shelf quality cannabis at half the cost, Theraleaf displays some of the Bay’s best cookie strains and boasts endorsements from celebrities such as hip-hop artist Loud Pack Jay. Serving an average of 400 patients a day, they are conveniently located near public transportation and just blocks from the new Berryessa BART station, with an ADA-accessible building, parking and walkways. They host several monthly demos and generous patient appreciation days, and are even planning a Thanksgiving community service event, which Donnell says will “show love, and give back to the patients who keep us doing what we love.”

As a lifestyle publication, DOPE Magazine is dedicated to creating purposeful, relevant conversations. When we printed our inaugural issue in 2011 we positioned ourselves in the cannabis arena as a team of professionals determined to normalize the plant. While cannabis remains the central theme of our brand, 2017 has marked a turning point in our progression. We’ve built a steadfast framework of inclusivity when speaking about gender, race, class, politics, family and culture—with the ethos DEFEND.